Immunosignatures: A powerful, new technique for early diagnosis

the ONA take:

Researchers at the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute can developed a new method of early disease detection they have labeled immunosignaturing. Established biomarker procedures are hampered, in that only a limited number of biomarkers are FDA-approved for clinical use and the small amounts present of DNA, RNA, and proteins can challenge accurate detection.

In this method, the researchers examine all the antibodies present in the bloodstream at a marked time. A small blood sample, typically less than a microliter in volume, is spread across a microarray,and then antibodies in the blood bind selectively with individual peptides, forming a "snapshot" of immune activity, or immunosignature.

The current study puts immunosignatures to the test, evaluating the technique’s ability to identify multiple disease types. The team first “trained” the system to calibrate results and establish reference immunosignatures,

The study authors used 20 samples apiece from five cancer patient cohorts, as well as samples from 20 patients without cancer, to establish as baseline reference for the system. Once these reference immunosignatures were established, and blind testing of 120 independent samples covering the same diseases was done. Results were charted at 95 percent accuracy.

As an additional test, over 1500 historical samples spanning 14 different diseases (including 12 cancers) were reviewed. Seventy five percent of the samples were used in the training phase and the remainder were subjected to blind test. An impressive average diagnostic accuracy of over 98% was reached.

This research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Immunosignatures: A powerful, new technique for early diagnosis

Despite impressive medical strides, cancer remains a leading killer and overwhelming burden to healthcare systems, causing well over a half million fatalities per year with a projected cost of $174 billion by 2020, according to the National Cancer Institute. Reducing the human and economic toll will require diagnosis and intervention at early stages of illness, when the best prognosis for a cure exists.